» Christian Ott | Ersa GmbH | Wertheim (Germany)
Phonotronica can look back on over 35 years of company history – the EMS service provider was founded by the visionary Professor Georgi Gergov, who implemented the first developments in the field of telecommunications back in the 1980s – still in the days of the socialist People´s Republic of Bulgaria. At that time, it was not possible to sell privately developed products. You had to work for the state or government, and the pay was quite modest. After the political changes in Bulgaria in 1990, Georgi Gergov took advantage of the new economic opportunities and founded Phonotronica – a company that has since impressed customers and partners alike with its continuous innovative strength, technical expertise and partnership-based cooperation. In 1993, the company developed the first product for the complete automation of telephone connections and implemented it in the departments of the national telecommunications company. Since 2010, the headquarters, including production facilities and tennis court, have been located just 5 km from Sofia Airport – guarded by an imposing Bulgarian Karakachan dog named “Little Ball” and surrounded by the mountains of Vitosha.
Even before the company was officially founded, Georgi Gergov had already realized pioneering developments, such as a control system for street lighting based on sunrise and sunset times – an extremely successful product because it was easy to use and maintenance-free. 700,000 units were sold. The establishment of its own production line as of 2010 marked an important milestone for the EMS service provider. Due to limited funds for the family-run start-up, it took around five years to complete, but then business took off. Another capacity expansion followed in 2018 with a second production line. Initially, only the company’ s own products were manufactured, but later orders from large Bulgarian electronics manufacturing companies were added.
Technology partnership for quality meets efficiency
Phonotronica founder Georgi Gergov and Christian Ott, Area Sales Manager at Ersa, made important initial contact at the leading trade fair productronica in Munich in 2014. There was already an intensive exchange at the time, but the time was not yet ripe for the start of a business relationship. Christian Ott recalls: “That was eleven years ago – at a time when we had no real presence in Bulgaria. We now have a strong sales and service partner here in the form of the ERSA-Bulgaria team, which maintains local contact with our Bulgarian prospects and customers.” It was to take a few more years before the first conversation turned into an intensive collaboration. It became concrete in 2019 with a first major project: initially 15,000, then 40,000 units per month were to be manufactured, packaged and delivered in the highest quality – with a production time window of only 12 minutes per unit. Contact with the machine manufacturer intensified: “We were on the lookout for a reflow soldering system, but still had comparatively little experience with such a scale. We started with our old selective soldering machine, which was not exactly designed for high-speed production. It was therefore essential to invest in a more powerful system,” recalls COO Valentin Zhelyazkov from the EMS service provider.
After careful evaluation, those responsible at the EMS company opted for the Versaflow 3/35 Global Edition – a selective soldering system that was adapted to the requirements of the project together with the Ersa team. An absolutely unique feature of the customized selective soldering machine: four soldering nozzles. The adaptation was implemented efficiently with the help of Ersa Service – the result: doubling of the throughput, smooth process flow, optimum quality. Indirect effect: the team grew to its current size of 30 employees. Christian Ott: “We have a really strong team here that works hand in hand and knows how to use the hardware optimally. Projects like this only work if you have a partner who listens and offers solutions.”
Partnership as a success factor – local and reliable
“Ersa is one of our best hardware suppliers – both in terms of equipment and service. The response times are excellent – whether from Germany or directly from Bulgaria, which is only a few steps away on foot,” The EMS company is convinced. They may be a small team, but it lives the cohesion of a large family and good manufacturing practices. Regular outdoor events and mountain tours promote cohesion and contribute to the exceptionally positive working culture, which ultimately also leads to top quality in production. In the future, the company plans to automate certain processes, implement further THT projects and further expand its flexibility in selective soldering. In Ersa, the company has a reliable partner at its side, whose comprehensive product portfolio fits in perfectly with the long-term strategy oft he EMS service provider. The team is sure to have many more successful projects that are geared towards customer requirements and international trends in electronics production.
